Pictures & Thank yous - Hot Mama Bike Skill Clinic (Saturday August 17, 2008)

Finally! pictures from the first annual Hot Mama Bike Skill Clinic that Mountain Biking Marin organized on Saturday August 17, 2008 at China Camp State Park.

First class instructors (click here for pictures and bios) worked very hard to bring the best teaching methods for the many techniques this clinic covered.

A big thank you to Sally Kuhlman from Virtual Simplicity for all her help and support before, during and after the event. Thanks to Corienne Bannier for helping out during the clinic. Also to Joy from Gioia Boutique, Dolores from Dol Active Wear, and Jackie Baker from Freeride Foundation for donating clothing items to the Breast Cancer Fund raffle. Many thanks to Chris and Scott from BikeRx for making the Ellsworth demo bikes possible. And last but not least, thank to the many bike stores and bike advocacy groups that helped with the promotion: Access 4 Bikes, Bicycle Odyssey, Bicycle Trails Council of Marin, Bike Rx, Friends of Tamarancho, Girls Learn to Ride, Gioia Boutique, Marin County Bicycle Coalition, Mike's Bikes, Mt. Tam Bikes, Sunshine Bicycles, and Virtual Simplicity.

But what made this event a big success were the Hot Mamas participants themselves. Yes!, women of all ages and technical/fitness levels came together to learn and practice bike skills, to network, to ride and yes to have fun!
CLICK HERE FOR HOT MAMAS PICTURES READ THE CAPTIONS!

Here is a very nice comment from Joy, a good friend and clinic participant:
"Celia's mountain biking clinic was so much fun, that I would do it again. I learned a couple of very useful skills that will stay with me. The instructors were so helpful. The food was awesome, and the gals were so much fun to ride with. There was so much heart in the clinic. The planning and everything rocked! Thanks so much. We are building a jump ramp at our home now."

If you are interested on learning and practicing more bike skills through small groups (up to 4 women per group):
* Skill Level I Newbies - Sat. Oct 4 from 9-11 am at China Camp
* Skill Level II Beginners - Sat. Oct 4 from 2-4 pm at China Camp
* Skill Level II Intermediates - Sat Oct 11 from 9-11 am China Camp
* Skill Level II Advance - Sat. Oct 11 from 2-4 pm at China Camp
Get in touch with Celia (celiag@mountainbikingmarin.com) to check for availability. Click here for more information about these October 08 bike clinics.

Hot Mamas Mountain Biking Skills Clinic

Mountain Biking Marin (MBM) presents its first annual Hot Mamas Bike Skill Clinic on Sunday, August 17, 2008 at China Camp State Park.

The Hot Mamas Skill Clinic is a special event taught by women for women who want to excel in mountain biking (cross country, free riding and downhill) and learn bike maintenance and mechanics while having fun. We will be offering teaching on different technical levels from beginner to advance based on your skills and fitness.

We will take advantage of the many features the China Camp State Park offers to beginner, intermediate and advance riders that facilitate the teaching of balance, launching, switchbacks, bunny hops, wheelies, and other techniques. Some of the China Camp features include: wider singletracks with easy switchbacks, narrower singletracks with challenging switchbacks; easy to strenuous drops and jumps; technical downhill sections; easy to moderate climbs and descents; and more.

Sign up now and save $25!

Advance registration is $95 per participant if you sign up before Wednesday August 13, 2008.

Advance registration is $95 (before August 13)
On-site registration is $120 (on August 17)

Register today at www.mountainbikingmarin.com
Space is limited!

Clinic Activities
A morning clinic session, an afternoon ride to practice what participants have learned while providing final tips and tricks.

Schedule
9:30 am - 11:00 am on-site registration & fitness/technical level assessment to divide into groups
11:00 am - 1:00 pm clinic instruction at China Camp
1:00 pm - 2:00 pm gathering to review techniques (lunch is not included)
2:00 pm - 5:00 pm riding time to practice and master what was learned

6 Hot Mamas in China Camp

The Hot Mamas decided to climb to the very top of China Camp last Sunday May 11. All 6 of us agreed on doing the whole loop so we all went climbing that steep semi-paved road to the top of the Nike site. We wanted to practice climbing, new switchbacks and some drops from the very top.

The 6 hotties were (from left to ride): Celia, Suzie, Leigh, Christina, Kristy, and Jessica.

I noticed about a month ago that Jessica first came riding her new bike with running clothes , and this time she came showing off her new bike outfit. She already came convinced that she is a real mountain biker!


I hope to see everyone next Sunday May 25 at 10:00 am near the guard booth in San Pedro Rd, China Camp. The Hot Mamas will roll at 10:30 am for another fun ride!

Sunday April 27th Hot Mama Ride Report

9 Hot Mamas showed up last Sunday ride! From left to right, the hotties were (click on the pictures to enlarge and better appreciate our beauty): Janet, Suzie, Veronica, Christina, Jessica, Jennifer and Celia. Dana was taking the picture. And Leslie..., well showed up a little later to ride by herself and meet up with us mid point.

Since Jessica was a mountain bike first timer, Dana stayed with her for some basic instructions and the rest of us went on to ride the trails. We thought we were not going to see them again but Jessica turned out to be a natural so they catched up with us while we were practicing the switchbacks.

Here is Dana showing the switchbacks moves.
Here is Jessica making the switchback!

Here is Christina and Janet on one of the climbs. Christina was meditating about the climb and Janet was pushing hard to make it. And here is Veronica showing some power as well!

Followed by Jennifer! look at her style!

Leslie got a late start but did the loop the opposite way to make sure she said hi!

And we even got some blood running down on Christina's leg

And here is our Hot Mamas Singletrack Chu Chu Train video!

Hot Mama Ride China Camp April 13th, 2008

Last Sunday's Hot Mamas that came to the China Camp ride were (from left to right): Leigh, Hannah, Celia and first timer Debra. Leslie also came but she comes later in the ride...

The four of us decided to ride the loop clockwise for a change. Although for about half of the loop we stayed together, Leigh was riding with Debra in the back and I was riding with Hannah in the front. Debra was a trooper. She rode half of the loop on her rigid cruiser bike. And Hannah was determined to clear all the switchbacks, which she did! all of them!

At about half way through the loop we found Hot Mama Leslie who was running a little late and missed the ride start. Cool that she rode the loop counterclockwise so we were able to see her and say hi. Leslie continue the ride on her own, Leigh and Debra bailed to get to the cars early, and Hannah and I finished the loop. It was another fun ride on a warm sunny day!

Stay tune for the next rides on Sunday April 27th!

Hot Mamas Resumes in 2008

Last Sunday March 30th, the Hot Mamas gathered again for a super fun loop around China Camp. From left to right, the Hot Mamas this weekend were Susann, Dolores, Leslie, Celia, Suzie, Kristy, Leigh and Dana.
Leslie, Suzie, Leigh and Dana went for a switchback practice loop while Susann, Dolores, Kristy and Celia went for a rocks, drops and more switchback sections practice loop. Dolores and Kristy cleared the creek drop with the sharp right turn switchback at the end. They were pros! Susann was taking it very easy because she is leaving town to visit Belice and didn't want to hurt herself before her vacation. Kristy was looking great on her new Specialize full suspension bike! She cleared one of the tight switchbacks of Jt Hall. And then when she was going to try the next one, well... she didn't quite make it and instead she decided to spill down the hill rolling down trying to catch her new bike to protect it from scratches. Both were okay so we continued our ride.


At the top of the camp we rendezvoused with the Hot Boys who were riding around some of the same trails waiting for their turn at 2:00 pm. Below are (Left to Right) Susann, Celia, Joe, Mike, Tom, Mario and Kristy.(Dolores was taking the picture).

And here is the Hot Mamas and Boys (coed group): Dan, Steve, Mike, Mario, Joe, Dana, Dolores, Julio, Tom and Eugene. (Celia was taking the picture). If you want to know what happened in this ride click here

Stay tuned for the next Hot Mama ride on Sunday April 13th at 10:00 am at China Camp. For more information visit Mike's Bikes website.

Hot Mama Ride Started in Spring 08!!!

Last Sunday March 16th, Dana, Celia and Dao did the first Hot Mama ride of 2008 at China Camp. Since nobody else showed up, we all went for a nice slow pace ride to hang with Dao who was riding Dana's bike for the first time. Dao got some basic skill lessons and was able to make several of the switchbacks. Dao was a trooper and she is committed to train and get in shape to then come back to the Hot Mama rides.

After we say goodbye to Dao at her car, Dana and I went for a fast loop while chatting about kids and friends. I was on my single speed and I have to say the front loop of China Camp is perfect for it! not too technical and without steep climbs. If you are starting to ride a single speed, China Camp is perfect to get used to riding wihtout gears.

Here is the schedule of the Hot Mama Rides sponsored by Mike's Bikes and Mountain Biking Marin. Girls! time to come out and ride!

Sundays: March 30th; April 13th; April 27th; May 11th, May 25th

Ride levels: beginner and intermediate/advance

Meeting Place: San Pedro Rd by the guard booth

Meeting time: 10:00 am

Rolling time: 10:30 am

Sunday Dec 2 - Rockville with the Ladies

We were all behaving as ladies should by the beginning of our hot mamas ride in Rockville. You can appreciate our distinguished poses in the picture above. From left to right: Celia, Dana, Lisa, our ride leader Karen, and Jackie.

By the end of the ride though, our behavior was unspeakable and shameful. As you can appreciate in the picture below, we were behaving like cheap drunk street women. From left to right: Celia a.k.a. Puff the Venezuelan; Karen a.k.a. Godess Saheeenna; Jackie a.k.a. Fearless Jumper; Dana a.k.a. Crossdresser; and Lisa a.k.a. Common Sense Wannabe. Everything started by some weird feather ritual our leader asked us to do just a few minutes into our ride. (I actually think she probably arrived to Rockville a few minutes earlier, sacrificed a bird, ate it and left the feathers around for the ritual). Karen told us to place the feathers in our helmets so we could "fly" the trails. Since she was the ride leader, we just obeyed her and did so. Here is Karen placing magic feathers on Lisa's helmet. Lisa already looks weird... Dana already with her feathers with a weird shape jacket on her backpack. Here is Jackie putting her feathers on her helmet. Weird... Celia with hers as well, feeling weird with a funny smile already. We then proceeded to look at that rock Dana has been dreaming about for months. A rock in the shape of a perfect ramp about 3 feet and a half high. Look how high Dana's right foot is!!! And Dana is a quite tall woman! Karen, Celia and Jackie's feathers helped them jump over the rock several times. But one of Jackie's feathers fell from her helmet right before her last jump and DAAANG!!$#@^% she felt on her ribs. Fortunately she was able to keep going with the ride, although she was more conservative on her riding. Wise decision. Here is Jackie lauching the rock right before her crash. After jumping the rock, we went playing in the rock garden while invoking Saheeenna's powers and repeating the ride's mottos: "Saheeenna!", "pedal like a dyke", "lean back like the pooping position" when jumping and riding downhill shoots. Here is Dana tangled on a tree after a crash. We finally took time off to rest and eat... and humm ooops show some butt. And toward the end of the ride Karen showed us how to ride down a quite technical section, very steep, rockie and with roots. See Celia below walking the section up so you can appreciate how steep that section is!. Now this is Celia cleaning the section! Followed by Dana also cleaning the section! And I wanted to end this ride report with the super smooth style of our ride leader and teacher Karen Saheeenna going down the same section. What a rider!

Vote Today for More Acces to Mountain Bike Trails on Mt. Tam

Hey Hot Mamas it's time to vote!

Should there be more opportunities for mountain biking on Mt. Tam?
Read the article and vote today at: The Marin IJ
(Deadline December 1st)

Weight Loss Ride in the Headlands

My body reached the 135 pounds mark and Dana told me she wanted to do some climbing to get in shape, so I planned this Friday ride in the Headlands with training and weight loss in mind. It was raining and foggy so I bribed Dana with hot chocolate after the ride plus assured her and she was going to ride some fun trails for the first time.

This is me deciding what rain gear to bring.

This is the map with the route and the prize after the ride, yummy hot chocolate. The route consisted basically going to the Golden Gate bridge and back home via Hill 88. Dana didn't realize what she was getting into...

This is Dana finally committing to the weight loss ride.

This is Poncho telling us we are nuts for riding in this weather and very sad because Dana didn't bring his big strong handsome boyfriend Hawk.

This is a mountain lion's poop we found during the ride.

I promise we didn't eat it because I knew about Dana's cinnamon roll with peanut butter jelly. I always beg her for a couple of bites. She wasn't so mad at me for taking her to this ride yet, so she let me have a big bite. Behind the cinnamon roll is Rodeo beach at the Headlands.

We found rescue teams practicing rescuing people from big cliffs and we were amazed by all the equipment they use.

And by now, after riding 19 miles and climbing 4,652 feet under the rain for about 6 hours Dana was really mad at me.

The fun trails we did and the hot chocolate, beer and pizza after the ride didn't snap Dana out of her bad mood. Before she left the house she told me: "I won't ride the Headlands in 20 years!"

But after some days in another ride, she told me she lost 4 pounds. I lost one pound only! That wasn't fair!

Last Women's Ride of 2007: Wed Sep 19th

Seven women showed up this last time! yeah! Celia, Francine, Dolores, Suzie, Lornita, Karen and Nicole. But only 6 of us gathered by the kiosk at San Pedro Road around 5:30 pm to ride the last Women's Ride of the year around the front side of China Camp. And yes, there are only 5 women in the picture above.... What about the 6th and the 7th women? Well, the picture above was taken at the end of the ride and only 5 of us finished the ride together, from left to right: Francine, Dolores, Suzie, Celia and Nicole. So what happened?! Do we still have two women lost in China Camp from last night?!! Keep reading if you want to know what happened.

Karen took off after half an hour for some back-to-school night event leaving her daughter Nicole with us who showed us how fast she is riding around those switchbacks and singletracks. Watch out for this 8th grader girl who is going to be kicking butts next year when she gets into her highschool mountain bike team.

Yesterday was a end of season day, practically the first day of the Fall. The day was cold and very windy, and somehow people went crazy around the 101 because it was literally a parking lot which was the reason why Lornita couldn't join us on time. We decided not to wait for Lornita as she was stuck in the 101, but we agreed to have her start the loop counterclockwise to meet us at some point as we were riding it clockwise.

Because the sun was rapidly setting, we decided to take the Oat Ridge fireroad shortcut to get back to the cars faster. So Francine called Lornita to let her know. Good for cell phones! Lornita made an U-turn to come back to meet with us and good she thought about bringing a night light because by the time she got to the car it was totally dark. She rode by herself but she was happy she got on her bike and actually enjoyed doing some night riding to start practicing for winter and stay in shape like a Hot Mama.

As I was fearing, none of us went anywhere to have beers afterwards. (This is why I miss having boys on the rides!). But I went home and drank my favorite non-alcoholic beer Dark Clausterhauler. It relaxes me like beer does, it tates like a good lager beer tastes and best of all, it has way less calories than a beer so it keeps me like a Hot Mama!!!

We will resume these rides next year in Spring 08. Stay tuned and stay Hot Mama!!!

A BIG thank you to Mike's Bikes for promoting this ride by spreading the voice and offering good discounts to the Hot Mamas.

And CONGRATULATIONS to Dolores, who placed 2nd on an important and competitive gokart race at Infineon. Her sponsor gave her a new machine to race faster. The trophe she got is bigger than her!!!

Wed Sep 5th Women's Ride w/ Sue, Clare & Celia

Last Wednesday Sep 5th, Clare, Sue and Celia showed up for the Women's Ride. As usual, we did the front loop of China Camp. Click in the MotionBased map below to view the ride stats, ride Google map and even the ride Google Earth!



Clare was a first timer, she came to say goodbye as she is heading up to Cambridge for college. But I am sure we will see her again.

Toward the end of the ride, Sue became a true mountain biker. She hit some dry roots or something on the trail that made her loose control of her bike to go over the handlebars. She scratched her elbow, her shoulder and her face. The wounds were superficial but enough to be considered the initiation of her mountain biking path. After making sure Sue and her bike were all right, we continued on with the ride on a nice steady pace to finish right before sunset.

See you all on Wednesday Sep 19th at 5:30 pm at San Pedro Rd by the kiosk. Be ready to roll and 6:00 pm.

Celia

Wed August 9 Hot Mama Ride Report

A group of 9 hot mamas showed up last night for the women's ride supported by Mike's Bikes. The hotties from left to right (click on the picture for a close up): Nicole, Celia, Suzie, Karen, Francine, Sue, Lorna, Dana and Maria.

We enjoyed climbs, descends, switchbacks and practiced balancing riding over "skinnies" and other obstacles Dana built with some wooden blocks and boards. Dana is becoming an expert on skinnies and obstacles building. I think she is planning on converting her house into a mountain biking balancing center, as every week she sends me pictures of new constructions on her backyard, garage, front yard and the last one was a ramp over the stairs to the living room....

Below is a picture of Dana helping Lorna to master switchbacks technique!!!



THE NEXT RIDE IS ON WED AUGUST 22, 2007. BE THERE OR BE SQUARE.

Celia

Next Women's Ride Wed August 8th

Dear Hot Mamas,
Time to have fun again!!! Come to a mellow ride filled with fun and female energy. Some of you can jump, go fast or try to beat Celia on the uphill steep climb... and some of you can go slower, enjoy the views better or get some switchbacks down.

And of course, everyone can chat about boyfriends, husbands, partners, children, grandchildren, pets and lovers!

When: Wed August 8th
Where: Meet at China Camp by the Kiosk on San Pedro Rd.
When: 5:30 pm to roll at 6:00 pm
About 2 hours ride.

Celia

PS. For more info get in touch with Mike's Bikes San Rafael or visit their website http://mikesbikes.com and click on group ride directory

Wednesday June 27 Women's Ride

Last June 27th was another warm beautiful Wednesday, perfect for a hot mama ride. This time I was the dork getting really early to make sure I wouldn't miss the ride. The hot mamas this time were Lindley, Suzie, Dominica, Sue, Dolores, Celia and Dana.

We started the ride with the warm up climb while chatting away as usual, you know this is what women do when we ride.

Then we tried getting some air at a jump, and was able to take a picture of Dolores in the air!

We continued our ride and practice some switchbacks techniques after Celia gave a demonstration of what NOT to do. Suzie, Sue, Lindley and Dominica cleared some good ones!

Click here to see more pictures

Next ride is on Wednesday July 11, 2007 at China Camp. Meeting at 5:30 pm to roll at 6:00 pm. Bring your friends!

Thanks to Mike's Bikes San Rafael for helping organized these rides!

Click in the link below to see the stats, the route, the map and more!

First Mike's Bikes Women Ride June 5, 2007

A total of 13 women showed up to our first gals' ride! Leigh, Tracey, Judy, Suzie, Sam, Linda, Lisa, Jennifer, Sue, Corienne, Allie, Dolores and Heidi! With Dana and me Celia, we were 15 women! oh yeah baby!


Dana was so excited to lead this first ride, she decided to camp and sleep in China Camp near the meeting place the night before to make sure she was on time. Well... maybe not.. but she was there ready to go way before 6:00 pm.

Around 5:30 pm we started gathering, getting ready to roll at 6:00 pm. We rode the front loop of China Camp in about 2 hours chatting while pedaling and regrouping once in a while to make sure we all stayed together. Tracey and Cori had to leave early, Heidi joined us half way and the rest of us did the whole ride.






A big thank you to Jason from Mike's Bikes who came to our first ride as the sweeper!

After the ride, some of us decided to celebrate with beers and dinner at the Marin Brewery Co in Larskpur Landing. We got to know each other a little better!

Next ride is next Wednesday June 20th!
Meeting time: 5:30 pm
Rolling time: 6:00 pm
Meeting place: San Pedro Rd by the parking lot kiosk
Ride route: China Camp

Celia's Birthday Present

The end result of being sick, travelling for work and working long hours for the last two weeks was only three mountain bike rides. I was pretty cranky and moody, snappy, didn't want to deal with work, etc.. so Sally, the kids and I knew it was time for me to go biking, despite the rain.

Last Friday Feb 9th in the morning I put on all my usual winter layers (what a normal person will wear to ski in the cold snow) plus all my rain gear. I was looking like as astronaut. See below a picture Sally took before the ride:

I wanted to ride from my house all the way to Slacker to admire one of the most gorgeous views of the Golden Gate and the San Francisco Bay. I went down to the Tennessea Valley stables via Coastal, then climbed Marincello, did some secret trails that connected me with Alta, then went to Slacker via other secret trails. Once in Slacker, I did some secret trails to Coastal, where I descended to the bottom of Bob Cat to climb back Marincello. At the top of Marincello, I went down back to the stables via another secret trail, and ended the ride with the hard steep Coastal climb from the stables.

I was out there for 3 hours, climbed about 3,500 ft, was soaking wet and muddy with my spirit renewed, my peace of mind re-established and my self re-centered. It was the best birthday gift I could give to myself.

Here is how I was looking after the ride:

The Very Last 2006 Hot Mama Ride Dec 30 w/ Karen & Celia

Last December 30th, I headed to Karen's house by China Camp early morning. We made the deal that we were going to ride slow, keeping a relaxed very mellow pace to keep a zone 1 heart rate, kind of a recovery ride. Sure...

It was really cold, I could see frozen cars, streets, roofs, etc... but since I committed to be at her house and the ride was going to be easy I just went for it. After bundle up in many warm layers, Karen and I went for our "mellow, zone 1, recovery" ride that started with a "very mild mellow" climb directly to the top of the Nike site! Karen is nuts! In less than 20 minutes we were already at the top of China Camp. These cross country racers are a royal pain in the #$%@!!!

Back at the more challening side of China Camp, we joined Jon riding with a friend for a little while, and ended up riding a section of the "M&M trail". That section (an "easy" section) was so steep that in order to ride it with no dabs I had my chin/face on top of my saddle! These downhillers design some challenging trails! They are nuts!

Sand Hill Ranch & the UPS Connection

I am very pleased with UPS not only for its delivery service but also for connecting me with Tara...

Everything started with Tara asking Sally (my partner) if there was any biker living in the house as she has been delivering bike parts for quite some time. Sally told her about me, got her email and the UPS connection happened!

Since then, Tara (who is an awesome rider) and I have been in races and rides together. Hot Mamas: Dana, Becky and Wendy have ridden with Tara plus her sweet boyfriend Eric and good friend Jason who are also great riders.

Last December 17th, Dana and I got invited by Tara to go with Eric, Jason and other friends to Sand Hill Ranch to check out the mountain cross, slalom and free ride jumps.

The UPS connection made it possible for me and Dana to experience the unlimited thrill, incredible joy, powerful adrenaline rush and deep accomplishment feeling one experiences when having the cojones or the cocoya to move your bike against gravity and fly using your wheels as wings.

One of the most fascinating phenomena to me is how free riding connects people across the age spectrum. Regardless of how young or old you are, if you are there to fly with your wheels you are in! (Although your older body takes a little longer to heal when you crash...).

Jason is also a photographer, a painter and a graphic designer. He is the author of the blog I Hate Bikes, a collection of riding photos and stories about friends riding bikes.

Click below to read the story Jason wrote and check out the awesome pictures he fortunately took so I have a proof that Dana and I actually did jump over that car in the picture!.

Girl Power at Sand Hill Ranch